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Swedish company Interdynamic AB of Stockholm designed the Interdynamic MP-9 9mm submachine gun. Intended as an inexpensive submachine gun based on the Carl Gustav M/45 for military applications, Interdynamic did not find a government buyer, so it was taken to US market as an open-bolt semi-automatic KG-9 pistol. The open bolt design was too easy to convert to full-auto. Because of this, the ATF forced Interdynamic to redesign it into a closed-bolt system, which was harder to convert to full-auto. This variant was called the KG-99. It made frequent appearances on Miami Vice, where it was legally converted to full-auto by Title II manufacturers.[2][3]

After the Cleveland School massacre, the TEC-9 was in California's list of banned weapons. To circumvent this, Intratec rebranded a variant of the TEC-9 as the TEC-DC9 from 1990 to 1994 (DC standing for "Designed for California"). The most noticeable external difference between the TEC-9 and the later TEC-DC9 is that rings to hold the sling were moved from the side of the gun with the cocking handle, to a removable stamped metal clip in the back of the gun. The TEC-9 and TEC-DC9 are otherwise identical.[citation needed]

The TEC-9 and, eventually, TEC-DC9 variants were listed among the 19 firearms banned by name in the USA by the now expired 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB).[5] This ban caused the cessation of their manufacture, and forced Intratec to introduce a newer model called the AB-10, a TEC-9 Mini without a threaded muzzle/barrel shroud and limited to a 10-round magazine instead of a 20- or 32-round magazine. However, it accepted the standard capacity magazines of the pre-ban models.

In 2001, the Supreme Court of California ruled that Intratec was not liable for the 1993 California Street attacks.[8] In that same year, the company went out of business and production of the AB-10 model ceased.[8]

Although still found on the used firearms market, the TEC-9 and similar variants are banned, often by name, in several states including California, New York, New Jersey[12] and Maryland.